Absolon
Saint Absolon, nicknamed "the Converter" or "the Bringer of Spring", is a Wooist saint, often regarded as the patron saint of the otherwise relatively irreligious Bern for his services in converting the region to Wooism in the 700s from the pagan religions they worshipped there. His life is heavily mythologised and relatively little is known about him or his deeds as a historical figure. While he is not known or recognised as such in the story proper, Absolon did have Archmage powers. Backstory The true story of Absolon mirrors the story of his conversion of Bern but it has many more layers and complexities that have been lost in time or with retelling. Backstory Fics * "Lost and Found"- November 721. In the aftermath of a flood in Corvus, a young Absolon is found clinging to a tree with little lights dancing around him: the first manifestations of magic. Unfortunately for him, the flood also took his parents and the newly-orphaned boy is taken to a convent. * "The Symbol of a Mage"- December 721. After the discovery the boy has magic, Absolon is taken to select his first wand. * "The Bringer of Spring- Prologue"- April 727. Absolon, hoping for redemption, is accepted into a monastery. There, he runs a monk named Elijah, who claims to be from the lands to the north. * "The Bringer of Spring- Parts 1-10 "- September 733- December 733. Following a mysterious vision telling him to go north, Absolon does just that. Arriving in a village after being abandoned by his ride, he runs away from its inhabitants into the forest, where he rescues a girl from the clutches of a supernatural being. The girl introduces herself as Greta and takes him back to his village, where he meets her parents who are less than kind towards her. He is accepted as a healer and helps them help the people of Eo, as well as growing closer with their daughter. He also finds out more about the beliefs of the people and gets to witness a sacrificial ritual firsthand, something which disgusts the devout Wooist. He hunkers down for the cold winter, observing Woomas celebrations along with Greta, and during one of them, they discover she has magic. However, said news is less pleasantly recieved by her family, who accuse her of being a changeling. Rejected and distraught, Greta runs out into the snow, with Absolon following her. He falls ill due to his exposure to the cold and finally realises what a bad idea it was to come north. With Greta spurned by her family, they vow to go south together. * "The Bringer of Spring- Part 11-22 "- April 734- April 735. However, spring does not come and Eifion comes with the priest from the sacrifice comes to take her. They do not tell Absolon why and he rushes to ask her parents, who are equally cagey. He works out himself what is happening: Greta is going to be sacrificed. He rushes to stop it, and manages to fight off the priest and heal her wounds, but is unable to fight against Cebeline and stop her devouring Greta. Collapsing into sensory overload, he only comes to when the priest calls out to him. They talk, during which the man expresses his regret and tries to commit suicide, only for Absolon to stop him. Realising the true horror of the north's religion, Absolon vows to try to bring Wooism to its people. He calls a meeting of the people of Eo and preaches to them but his first convert is the priest from the grove. Absolon baptises the man, who introduces himself as Ivar. Ivar encourages the people of Eo to accept the blessing and they do, all except Seisyll and Ulrika. However, the two explain their reasons for their dislike of Greta that evening, begging for Absolon's forgiveness, which he grants in the way of a baptism. A while later, Ivar comes to see him and they talk about spreading the message further. They head to the fort of the Dux of Roan, Ragnarr, where Absolon tries to convince him but the man rejects him. Nevertheless, he offers the party hospitality, which they agree to, only for the local priest to attempt to murder Absolon in the night. the attempt is only foiled thanks to Ivar. However, this means the priest violated the rule of hospitality but he claims to have done no wrong as Absolon violated the rule first by trying to spread a dangerous idea. Ivar proposes they settle this in combat, in part to show off Absolon's magic and thus the Woo's power. Absolon and the priest duel, and despite the latter's dirty tactics which take advantage of his blocks, Absolon wins. This convinces the Dux and he lets them spread the word of the Woo around his territory. In the autumn, however, Absolon's blocks get worse and he returns to the Dux's, stopping their sacrifice along the way. The winter proves torturous for him and he relies on Ivar more than ever. But when spring does not arrive again, the Dux comes to him and says they need a sacrifice. Driven mad by his blocks, Absolon says he will go confront Cebeline. Ivar tries to stop him, confessing his love along the way but it proves fruitless. Absolon goes to fight the deity but proves no match for her until she releases his blocks. Losing his wand, he instead relies on his hand to cast spells, something which burns it severely. Only a chance discovery that her branches conduct his magic means he proves victorious. Stumbling back, he passes out in front of a dumbstruck Ivar and the Dux. * "The Bringer of Spring- Part 23-Epilogue"- April 735- March 752. Waking up, Absolon finds Ivar by his side and tells him the blocks are gone. However, so is his hand. This distresses Absolon, which unleashes stray magic, magic that he resolves to try to control. He tells Ivar of his mission given to the Woo and the latter asks about their relationship. Absolon admits he reciprocates his feelings and they kiss. Later, the Dux comes to visit and tells Absolon of his newfound fame, something Absolon recieves with mixed feelings. When he recovers, he goes out to the forest with Ivar to test out his new wand, one made of Cebeline's branch. Meanwhile, Elijah gets the news. And finally, in March, after depriving her of her worship, Absolon seals Cebeline in her tree. Legacy Saint Absolon is remembered as a great man with a strong devotion to the Lord Woo and a determination to carry out any task he set out to accomplish. His courage and selflessness are greatly admired by his followers, as well as his strong sense of justice and desire to fight against evil. His age greatly varies by retelling and in particular by icon, with some claiming he was an old man while others firmly depict him as a young one. He was canonised as a saint after the claiming of Bern by Aramis Stallion and the establishment of House Stallion. This is because his establishment of Wooism in the land made consolidation of their control over the region much easier. One of the largest and most important cathedrals in Bern is named after him: the Cathedral of Saint Absolon the Converter in Destrier. The associated order of monks of the cathedral also follow his order and recognise him as their patron. Pilgrims often come to the cathedral to pray to him. It is said that there are several relics belonging to him resting in the cathedral, such as his branch and shreds of his hair, but very few people have seen them. His feast day is on the 11th of May and it is a very important day in the Bernian calendar. This is the day when the minor nobility of Bern gathers in Destrier to attend a magnificent feast put on by the Grand Duke. Not only is this feast important for maintaing the connection between the minor Houses and their ruling House but it is also a convenient place for political deals to be made. Any leftovers are redistributed to the poor and less fortunate. Feasts on a smaller scale are held throughout Bern and commonly feature a mixture of preserved foods left from winter and fresh spring foods, such as fishes from the streams and lambs born that spring. The most important thing is that the food is rich and there is a lot of it. Symbols The Sun- Absolon's major miracle during his lifetime was fighting a demon that was terrorising the people with a neverending winter. His victory over this demon is symbolised by the sun coming out. Therefore, the sun has long been associated with him and his channeling of the power of the Woo. Hand- However, the miracle came at a price. Absolon's right hand was severed and he is often depicted in icons as missing it, often highlighting the loss by having him clutch a scroll or some other item. Some icons also depict scars around the stump, some do not. The cathedral in Destrier claims to have it as a relic and so does the cathedral in Palfrey. Which one is the correct one is unclear. Tree Branch'''- '''The branch of Absolon symbolises his connection to the Lord Woo. It provides the Woo with a place or perch and thus gave Absolon a way to bring out the power of his God. Custom dictates that the tables on his feast day are decorated with tree branches in his honour, usually ones coated with budding leaves or spring flowers. Personality The legend portrays Absolon as a great, heroic man wholly dedicated to the Lord Woo and showing kindness to rich and poor alike, without discrimination and expecting nothing in return. A great, larger than life figure who all should aspire to. That is only part of the story, however. In reality, Absolon is indeed very dedicated and has a great deal of faith in the Woo. Raised religious from a young age, he wholeheartedly believes in the Lord Woo's kindness and words and obeys the will of his god without question. He will see fault in anything else before he sees any fault in the Woo and as a result, even in the most dire circumstances, his faith is unshakeable. Prayer and thanking the Woo is an important ritual for him which he constantly observes. In striving to obey the Woo's teachings, he is consequently a very kind, gentle and forgiving person, able to look past all but the most grave offences. Even those he sees as irredeemable he finds it very difficult to be angry at. Instead, he only feels pity for them, since he believes they only damn themselves and will be miserable because of it. He firmly believes his magic is a gift from the Woo and that he has a mission to use that magic for good. Because he attributes all of his successes to the Woo, he is very humble, not liking to be seen as a hero or any kind of saviour. He is only doing what the Woo would want any of his followers to do. His kindness extends to everyone, almost to a fault. He is constantly looking to help people however he can and uses any resource available to him to do so. Because of this, he is very loving and devoted to those he cares about, doing anything for them that they want or need and being willing to forgive them anything. He loves anybody who extends him warmth and will latch on to them, never letting go. This is also in part due to his sensitivity and synaesthesia: anybody who he finds pleasant company and does not overload him is a rare person to be treasured. A dedicated pacifist, Absolon hates violence and will seek to resolve any conflict with words and compromises. He cannot bring himself to kill or hurt another person unless he has to and even then, he will regret it severely. This once again stems from his religious upbringing. It also ties into another trait he has: he is idealistic to the extreme, trusting anybody and only ever being willing to see the good in them, which can lead him into serious trouble if they do not mean well. A major flaw of his is that he will rush into a situation without stopping to consider the risks or even work out a plan. Blinded by idealism, a desire to help or simple lack of consideration, Absolon will often get in over his head and only be able to get out through a combination of his magic and sheer, dumb luck. Though he does learn from his experiences, that never stops Absolon following his latest idealistic whim and running off to try to save someone because "that's what the Woo would want". Trivia * He originally began as a mere name for a saint's feast day in the fic "Chocolate!". That escalated quickly. * His closest real saint counterpart is Saint Columba, the converter of the Picts to Christianity. Funnily enough, "Columba" is Latin for "dove", whilst Absolon's wand core (and therefore spirit animal) is a dove feather. This is a coicidence. * His archmage blocks manifest as an extreme form of synaesthesia, specifically chromasthesia and colour-tactile synaesthesia. This was inspired by the description of synaesthesia in "Speak, Memory" by Vladimir Nabokov. Category:Medieval characters Category:Non-game characters Category:Corvids Category:Bernians